To love and to hold
by Nijntje86
Summary: When a woman falls into Middle Earth she is not suddenly turning into a warrior, a survivor. She is faced with a lot of cultural difference, and everyday problems. All while trying to adapt to traveling on the road with 13 dwarves and a hobbit. But beautiful things start to bloom, and she decides to make the best of it when she can not go home. BofurxOC Warning! Mature content.
1. Chapter 1

As the spring sun shone its shy beams down on earth, Ani put on her jacket and wrapped her fresh knitted scarf around her neck. It was a bright green and she was very proud of it, as she knitted it herself. She was going to post two letters and as the postbox wasn't that far, she only put her key in her pocket. It would not take that long for her to return home to get ready for the girls night out that evening.

The 27 year old woman looked at the tiny green tips that started to grow in her front yard, as she closed the door with one hand, holding the two envelopes in the other. She took a deep breath, smelling spring in the air, and the warming air made her soft smile to herself. It had been a very long winter with snow and ice and though she loved it, she was looking forward to the more warmer days. The snow had melted away in the last week, and her neighbours and friends were enjoying the outside in the winter.

The two letters in her hand were franked correctly and a steady handwriting had written the address on the smaller envelope. It was a birthday card for the daughter of one of her friends. She would turn 2 in two days, and inside the envelope was a sparkly pink princes wishing the girl a happy birthday.

The other letter was for the IRS, where she had filled in the form they had sent to her. It was already printed with an address and did not even need a stamp. The letters were tucked between her arm and the side of her jacket as Ani had put her hands in her pockets. She took the road through the park and was surprised how empty it actually was. It was very quiet, as Ani saw something move behind the trees. Curious about it, she walked closer, her high boots stepping firmly off the path. It looked like a huge soap bubble, filled with a whirlpool. It was floating softly between the trees. To her surprise it suddenly changed directions, coming straight for her. Ani took a few steps back, but the strange bubble now started to move faster. Instinct took over and Ani started to run away, back toward the path, but the bubble overtook her and swallowed the young woman whole before it disappeared.

A birthdaycard and a letter to the IRS were blown into a bush by the wind.

Ani felt a push in her back, sending her to the ground. The brown leaves softened the blow. Darkness had surrounded her as the day suddenly had turned to night. The trees around her were a lot bigger and wilder then the ones in the park.

A panic and disorientation filled her, as she heard talking very close to her. Her hands found a thick branch as she picked it up, ready to defend herself. Her mind was racing in overdrive. Someone must have hit her on the head, or drugged her. She heard a sound behind her, and something nudged her in the back, sending a scream across her lips. As she looked what it was, she saw a small pony, pushing its head against her arm, hoping for food. Ani stepped away from it quickly holding the thick branch in front of her.

"Betsy! Where are ya dear?" She heard a voice call out. The pony looked up and whinnied. Ani walked backwards as she saw a light approach. It wasn't the steady light of a flashlight, but more like fire. Ani started to panic even more. Someone was setting something on fire.

Unable to move she saw a man walking up to the horse, He wasn't very tall, but he looked strong enough. "There you are.." The man spotted her, looking a bit surprised in her direction. "Well hello dear, what are you doing all alone in the forest?" The man had grey hair, braided over his head, as he was smiling friendly at her. "there is no need to be afraid, I mean you no harm." He spoke kindly, as he looked at the stick in her hands.

"Don't they all say that." She snorted, not trusting him at all. "I am Dori, what is your name lass?" He kept his distance, as he grabbed the leisure of the pony. At that moment another man jumped from behind the bushes. "Did ya find Betsy?" He asked, unaware of Ani standing only two feet away from him. Ani jumped backward, looking at the two men. This one had a strange haircut. "I did, as someone else." The other looked at her, a bit surprised. "Go get Thorin Ori," Dori looked at her and smiled. "And Gandalf." He whispered, sending the other man off into the forest. "Stay away from me." Ani pointed the stick back at the man, realizing he was going to get help. If she was to decide if he was going to help her, she had to do it fast.

"Don't worry lass, I was just getting me pony. What are you doing here in the forest?" Ani looked around her eyes flashing to the side. "I.. I don't know. I was walking in the park, and then that strange bubble came." Dori nodded. "Ah, so your travelling alone?" "I am not travelling." Ani said, "I was going to the post office." At that moment, the other man came back, followed by a tall man with a beard and a large pointy grey hat wearing a dress, and another smaller man wearing a large fur and an impressive hairstyle. "What is wrong Dori?" He started, as he suddenly noticed Ani. "I found meself a lass." "Stay away from me." She swung the stick at them, stepping backwards. The man with the fur glared at her. "And what do you think you are going to do with that stick?" "Calm down Thorin, she looks upset." The grey man spoke. His voice warm and comforting. "What is your name my dear." He asked. "Ani.." She spoke, looking from one to the other. "Ani Johnson. I .. I live in Bourton. I.. I just want to go home." "You lost your way then dear?" Dori asked with a kind smile. "No, It.. it was that strange bubble. It took me here."

The man in grey suddenly looked surprised. "A wirlport?" He asked her. "Oh no Gandalf. We are not taking her." The one with the fur spoke. Ani raised her stick back up. "Oh no your not, I know self-defense!" She took another step backwards, bumping into someone. Ani jumped away, but he already grabbed her hands, pulling the stick away. "No worry lass, We are not going to harm you." He spoke, as he let go of her. Ani was filled with fear, striking the man in his stomach, before running off. She then saw to her fear she was surrounded. "Please, calm down. I am Gandalf the grey, and this is Thorin and his friends. Why don't you come with us to our camp, you must be hungry." It slowly came to Ani that they had not yet harmed her, and she was not going to stay in the forest alone.

"So you are like... a larp group or something?" She asked carefully. Her sister had a period she played it, and these looked pretty good. "What is a larp group?" The one with the strange hair asked her. "Live action role play. You know, you pretend you are someone else and slap the other with plastic swords." "Why do you want to do that?" He asked confused, earning a snicker from Ani. "That was the same thing I asked myself." She sighed. "Look, if you just tell me where I am I can get home by myself." "You are in the wild," Thorin answered. "Middle Earth," Gandalf added. Ani stopped, placing her hands to her side. "Haha.. very funny. That place does not exists. Can I use your phone? I can call a cab." "What is a phone?" The haircut asked, looking curious.

Ani froze as she reached the campside. It suddenly hit her as she saw all the belongings and ponies and more dwarves. This was not her home, this was not her country. This was probably not even her planet. She was in a whole lot of trouble. "You sure put your foot in it this time." She muttered to herself.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: The song is from Disney's Junglebook. The dwarves are from Tolkien. The three bears are from... I do not know, not me lol!

I own nothing. Except for Ani.

* * *

 _"My own home, my own home_

 _my own home, my own home._

 _Father's hunting in the forest_

 _Mother's cooking in the home_

 _I must go to fetch the water_

'til _the day that I am grown._

 _Till I'm grown_

 _till I'm grown._

 _I must go to fetch the water_

'till _the day that I am grown._

 _And I will have a handsome husband_

 _and a daughter of my own_

 _I'll send her to fetch the water,_

 _I'll be cooking in my home"_

She returned to her humming again, wiping the tear away. Unable to see any creature being sad, Bofur tried to talk with her. "That's a lovely song lass." Ani looked up, giving him a sad smile. "It came from a movie." Bofur did not know what a movie was. "it's... hard to explain. It is a story with moving pictures. Jungle book it was called." "What is the story about." He tried giving her a smile to encourage her.  
Ani sighed, as she moved to a more comfortable position. "Well, there was a little boy, a baby only, who was raised by a wolf family. But then he needs to get back to his own kind for the tiger Shere Kahn will kill him. Bagera, a black panther will take him. But he has to cross the dangerous jungle." She talks as she forgets to stir and remember the story. Bofur smiled. "That is not the way to tell a story lass. You have to make it more exciting."

"I know, but it is a long story." She sighed before she looked up with an unsure smile.  
"You know the story about the three bears?" She asked softly to the dwarf who had been very kind to her.

"Bears? No.. I can't say I have." Ani swallowed. Reminded how far away from home she was. But before she could pay a bit attention to her grief, Bofur put new stuff into the stew, pointing at her hand to let her know she had to stir. "So.. tell me the story about three bears." "Not three bears. The three bears, and Goldilocks."  
"Goldilocks?"  
Ani smiled at his confused face. "Yes. Goldilocks was a girl with golden hair, a beautiful girl I might add. But Goldilocks never listened to the words of her worried mother." "See, this is how a story can start." Ani shook her head. "No the story always starts with, Once upon a time, in a kingdom far, far away lived a little girl."  
"Goldilocks." Bofur nodded  
"Yes."  
"Who never listened and was beautiful."  
"Will you let me tell the story?" She snapped at him.  
Bofur smiled. "Very well."

"Goldilocks lived near a forest and her mother always told her she should not go in there. For in the forest lived the three bears. A big bear, the papa bear, a bear, not too big and not too small, but just in the middle. The mama bear. And a tiny little bear. The baby bear."

"The cub." Ani glared at Bofur. "I know a baby bear is called a cub. Not in the story."

Bofur nodded, adding a chopped carrot to the stew.  
"They all lived together in a bearhouse in the middle of the forest. Mama bear had made some porridge for the three of them. But the porridge was too hot to be eaten and so the three bears went out for a walk."  
She glared up at the dwarf, but he did not comment.  
"At that moment, Goldilocks was walking through the forest and found the little house in the middle of the forest. She walked in, for she was hungry and looked at the three bowls of porage on the table. Goldilocks took a sip of the first bowl, the one that was large.  
Juck, she said. This one it too hot.  
So she took a sip from the second bowl the one that was in the middle. But that one was too cold. The small bowl was just right and Goldilocks ate it all."Bofur smiled as Ani turned quiet for a moment. "I don't know if I like this Goldilocks. Breaking into a house and eating their food."

Bilbo, who had been listening started to laugh. "She sounds a lot like you dwarves when you came into my home."  
Ani looked a bit surprised, curious about what happened.

"What happened next?" Ori asked kindly, looking up from his drawing-book.  
"Oh, ehm. The next Goldilocks was tired and she sat down on the big chair. But it was too hard for her. Then she sat down on the middle chair, but it was too soft. But when Goldilocks sat down on the small chair, it broke under her weight."

Bilbo nodded. "Yes, she sounds like a dwarf." making Ani smile.

"So Goldilocks walked upstairs, seeing three beds. A large one, a middle one, and a small one. She tried the big bed, but it was too warm. Then she tried the middle bed, but that was too cold. And then she tried the small bed, which was perfect and Goldilocks fell asleep."

Ani looked at the dwarves and the hobbit that had gathered around her, a bit insecure.  
"You want the nice ending or the original?"  
Bofur shook his head. "You should think about what your audience likes best."  
Ani looked around, she had noticed the dwarves liked drama, but she wasn't feeling up for the horrible ending the story had involved for Goldilocks.

"At that moment the three bears came back home, seeing their porridge being spilled over the tablecloth.  
Somebody ate my porage, the father spoke.  
Someone ate my porage, the mother spoke.  
Somebody ate my porage and did not leave any for me. The babybear whined.

The mother comforted her child and walked into the living room.

Someone has sat in my chair, the father spoke.  
Someone has sat in my chair, the mother spoke.  
Someone sat in my chair, and it broke! the babybear whined.

Eager to find the one who ruined their morning they walked upstairs.

Someone has been sleeping in my bed, the father spoke.  
Someone has been sleeping in my bed, the mother spoke.  
Someone has been sleeping in my bed, and is still in there! The babybear screamed, waking up Goldilocks.

With a scream she ran out of the house, never to return again, promising her mother she would be good from now on. And they all lived happily ever after. The end."

Ani smiled at the tree dwarves that hung to her lips, for Bombur had joined them as the stew started to smell even better.  
Bofur clapped his hands. "Very good! We will make you into a storyteller yet." He spoke joyfully. "Was this the happy or the original ending."  
"In the first stories, the girls usually die," Ani spoke, looking in the stew. "Most folk stories were an example for children what happened when they were bad. When the world grew less dangerous, the stories turned milder, to protect the children from harm."

Ani knew quite a bit about fairytales as she always been intrigued by it. "They even made a few folk stories that fit more with the age I live in. Like Red Ridinghood being raped by a man for going with him. OR Red riding hood killing the wolf to show girls are not defenseless anymore."

Bilbo stared at her in amazement. "You have stories about..." He looked around and turned down his voice. "About rape?" He asked, his face turning down.

"Does that happen a lot where you come from?" Bofur asked, now understanding the fear the young woman had when they first met her. "Not everywhere, but there are some areas and places you do not want to be as a woman alone. And we try to warn the young girls about it." She swallowed as she looked at the stew. "But I guess that is the same everywhere." She added quietly.  
Bofur nodded quietly. He had heard about woman being violated by orks or men in the wild.

"Let us talk about merrier things now." Bombur stated, looking longing at the stew. "I think the stew is done." Bofur laughed. "Is food the only thing you can think about. Hurry up and get the others." He looked at Ani who still looked a bit pale. "Don't worry lass. We won't let anything happen to you."  
She looked at him, despair in her eyes, and tears were forming in the corners of her eyes.  
"Oh, lass." He spoke, wanting her to smile again. He softly rubbed her arm, "It will be fine, I promise." He whispered. Ani took in a deep breath and nodded. "I know Bofur... Thank you." she sighed before she smiled again. "Let's serve out."

.

She had been traveling with the dwarves for a week now, Bofur was prodding her for tales, finding it out she was like a storybook, knowing a lot of stories about many different subjects. After the fairytales as she called them came the legends of Greece and 1001 night and the stories about gods. And on one evening Ani had even told him about a man named Jesus, on who a whole religion was based.

She was now telling him about a doctor that had changed himself into a monster, but it wasn't as good as her other stories, and halfway Ani trailed off. "I am sorry, I can't remember the rest. I just heard about the story not the story itself."  
She rubbed her face and closed her eyes for a moment.

"Why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself Bofur?" She asked him, already knowing she was not to know that they were on their way to take back a mountain.  
Dwarves were not very good at keeping secrets.  
"Me? I am not interesting." Bofur waved her question away.  
Ani snickered. "Sure you are. You are a dwarf..."  
"So?"  
"What exactly do dwarves do..." She asked curiously. "Besides riding ponies and.. mining I guess?"  
"We are smiths, toymakers, or storytellers."  
"And what about you?"  
Bofur smiled. "All of them."  
"So, who are your parents, where were you born. What do you want to accomplish in life?"  
Bofur stared at her. "Whoo lassy, those are very important questions. I don't know If I am willing to share the answer to those." Ani laughed. "The names of your parents? Alright then.. do you have any brothers and sisters?"  
"Yes." He said smiling wide, as he pointed at Bombur. "Me Brother." He now pointed at Bifur. "and me Cousin."  
Ani already knew that.

"Your favorite color." She smiled as she hung over her saddle, enjoyed by the looks he gave her. "Hey, it is important." She said smiling.  
"Emerald green." He spoke, givin

* * *

g a sigh. "Favorite food?" "Chips. Now I have a question for you."

Ani sat up straight, willing to tell him anything. "Who is this Snowwhite you call to when you think no one is listening?" Ani felt her cheeks starting to burn. She had kept that fairytale out of her storytelling. But she also learned how to entertain her audience. "That... is something to tell tonight by the fire." Bofur gave her a smile. "Very well. I am looking forward to hearing it."

When the sun was up high Bombur had managed to ride next to her, telling her about his children and wife. Feeling more normal then ever Ani asked them how they met. "We met in the kitchens, our love for cooking brought us together. She was making a soup and I started to spice it." He laughed. "That soup was the hottest soup we ever ate." "I understood there are only a few dwarf woman."  
Bombur nodded. "True lass, most of the time they pick dwarves with the same profession and passions. It is easier when one of them loses their mind into it for a while." "Lose their mind?" Ani looked at the dwarf in shock. How could someone lose their mind for a while?  
"Ai, sometimes we dwarves get too passionate about something, we forget to eat, to talk. It can go on for years."

"You don't eat for years? I can not imagine that." She laughed. And Bombur laughed with her.

.

"Once upon a time in a kingdom far far away." Ani started calmly as the dwarves sat around the fire, keeping their hands busy, but their mouths shut. Except for Ori, who leaned over to his brother.

"I have already heard this story." He whispered, earning a push from Nori, who was mending a hole in his shirt.

"There was a king and queen who loved each other very much." She continued as she spoke of the wishes of the queen, and the joy the king and queen felt when she was with child. "but, as the child was born, the queen died, leaving the king sad and alone. He decided to get married again, for his daughter to grow up with a loving mother."

She tried to describe the new queen as horrible and beautiful as she could, earning some smiles from Bofur every once in a while as he recognized one of his own lines. "Snowhite came to a lovely cottage, but it was empty and very very dirty. There was dust on every window and the dirty dishes were still in the sink. It stank like old socks and smoke. And so Snowhite gathered some animals from the forest, and cleaning supplies and started to clean the whole house."

"Must be an elf," Gloin spoke, looking kind of upset with the word cleaning, making Ani snicker.

"No Master Gloin, she was not an elf. But she managed to clean most of the house before dark, and when she was done she pushed the 7 beds together and fell into a deep deep sleep."

"These woman from your stories sure love to sleep," Nori spoke politely.  
Ani laughed. "So would you if you had to clean up after 7 miners." Suddenly earning a lot of approving nods.

"As the night fell the seven dwarves came home, seeing their cottage all clean and a large woman sleeping in their beds." She continued as she told about how Snowwhite aided the dwarves and all of them were happy. "But in the meantime in the palace, the queen grew restless again, asking the mirror.

"Mirror mirror on the wall.." Ani spoke with the voice of the queen. "Who is the most beautiful of all?"  
The mirror opened his eyes at her and in his silver voice, it spoke. "You, my queen are beautiful, but Snowhite is much more beautiful then you are."  
The queen was filled with rage as she grabbed both sides of the mirror. "Where is she!" The queen hissed." Ani looked around seeing 15 pairs of eyes look at her. Even Gandalf was now with them and listened in.  
"And so the mirror showed the queen where she was. The queen disguised herself as an old saleswoman, who sold combs. But she poisoned it with a very strong poison.  
She walked into the forest  
"Combs! Combs for sale." Ani spoke with a witchy voice, making some of the dwarves shivers. She told the dwarves about how Snowhite dropped on the ground but thankfully was saved by the dwarves who quickly spotted the comb when they came home.

As she continued she arrived with the last part. She looked at the group.

"And Snowhite bit the poisoned apple and dropped to the ground... Dead. When the dwarves came home they were in shock and tried to find what was wrong with her. But they could not find what it was.

The seven dwarves were devastated and called in the help of a local wizard. But even he could not find what was wrong with her.  
"Only the kiss of her true love could save her now." The wizard spoke."

Ani tried to sound like Gandalf and to her joy she saw the grey wizard smile at her.

"And so the dwarves wept, for they did not know who the true love of their princes was."

Ori poked his brother. "I bet it is a prince. It is always a prince." Ani smiled, pointing at Ori.

"That was exactly what the dwarves thought." She felt her heart start to race a bit, as she came to the very end of the story. She had changed the ending, all by herself. "And as they asked their good friend the prince, he was more than willing to kiss the beautiful girl. He looked down at her, seeing her pale white skin, and her dark brown curls, and thought he loved the princes with all his heart. But as he kissed her, nothing happened. Snowwhite remained dead."

She turned quiet as she looked at her feet. A silence grew around and the only sound made was that of the fire. "Then what did the dwarves do?"  
Ani kept looking at her feet as a smile came over her face. It had been Kili to ask this question.

"They left Snowwhite underneath the tree and went home to morn. All but one..." She smiled as her eyes flashed to Bofur for only a second.  
"It wasn't the eldest, nor the youngest, but it was one with hope in his heart." She looked at the younger dwarves. "His cheeks were wet from the tears he had been crying, he wanted to give her a final goodbye before they would bury her in the morning.  
And so, he sank down on one knee and smiled through his tears at the lovely Snowhite.  
"Sleep well, my dearest."  
He whispered as he gave one last kiss to the princess their lips barely touching. He sadly walked away until he heard a soft voice behind him.  
"Please don't go," Snowwhite whispered, making the dwarf turn around seeing her sitting up. He stared at her in amazement as the color had returned to her cheeks and she was smiling shyly at the dwarf. He quickly got back to her, lifting her out of the glass chest into his strong arms. "How is this possible?" He whispered as Snowwhite got back on her feet.  
"Remember what the wizard said?" She asked him with a smile as she took his hand in her own. Together they walked back to the cottage, living happily ever after."

Ani smiled proudly at the dwarves as she saw a couple of them wipe away a tear.  
"A true loves kiss," Dori whispered in amazement. "So she and the dwarf love each other all along?"

Ani smiled. "You think she could love the prince she never heard of?"  
Kili jumped up, pointing at Ani."What was this dwarves name? I bet it's.."  
Fili nudged his brother, giving him an evil glare. "Ori!"  
The youngest dwarf turned bright red, "IT's not!" He yelled, getting to his feet.

"No, it's not. And you would not know him anyway. He comes from my world." Ani smiled sweetly, not wanting to upset Ori. She tried to remember the names of the seven dwarves.  
"It could be Sleepy, or Happy or Grouchy or Doc.." Ani shook her head. "No, wait Doc was the eldest."

She looked up seeing the dwarves stare at her.

"Dwarves in your world have names like Sleepy and Happy?" Gloin asked her looking shocked. Ani laughed. "Only in Disneyland. Well, I believe it is time for bed." She looked at Thorin who gave her a small nod. "Ori is on guard."

That was it for this chapter. Please review.


	3. Chapter 3

**A bit of a warning, this chapter contains sexual education.**

It wasn't until later that night when Ani had turned in that she realized something was wrong. A strong pain in her abdomen suddenly reminded her.  
Her period was about to start and she was in the middle of nowhere without a toilet or even basic supplies, surrounded by males. Ani froze as she could feel it was going to start, or already starting. She sat up straight, slightly panicking about what was happening to her. Ori was on guard and looked at her sudden movements. He quickly walked over to her looking worried. "What is wrong Ani?" He whispered.

Ani started to blush. "I ehm... I have a problem..." She whispered. Ori blinked at her. "What is it?"  
"I ehm..." She had to tell him. Even though she felt a bit ashamed. "My monthly period is about to start." She whispered.

Ori looked confused as his eyebrows knit together. "What is that?" Ani stared at the dwarf in amazement.  
"It is when my uterus cleans itself." It took a moment before Ori started to blush. "So..you need to.." He looked at her with a question in his eyes.

"What Do you need?"

Ani stared at the dwarf, realizing he was not going to be of any help. "I don't know... In my world, we have things for that, but I don't know what woman use here."

Ori looked around. "We should ask Thorin."  
Ani grabbed Ori's arm. "Oh nono... Not Thorin." Ani could feel the shame started to grow, already feeling the leaders eyes glaring at her. It would just be another excuse to get rid of her.

"Ani..." Ori spoke. At that moment Bilbo sat up. "Will you two be quiet. What is going on?" He whispered harshly. "Ani got a period," Ori spoke. Bilbo gave her a kind smile. "First one? It is very natural, child." Ani shook her head. "No, but I don't have anything for it."

Bilbo smiled, with hobbits natural things were nothing to be shy about. And having lived with a few female cousins, Bilbo knew about female periods. He got up quickly searching Oin's pack for bandages. In the meantime Bofur had woken up too, as well as Nori, questioning Ori what was going on.

"Ani has a period." He said, making the older dwarves look at her in shock. Ani blushed and looked at her feet in shame. "Ori, don't tell everyone." She whispered ashamedly. Bilbo handed over the bandages and Ani quickly left for the woods. Bilbo following her closeby. She was glad it had not really started yet, and placed the bandages in her underwear.  
"You need to wash them out whenever you can," Bilbo stated softly as they walked back. "If you need some time, I can help you stall the group a bit." She smiled at the hobbit in gratitude. "You are a true friend."

As Ani came back 13 pairs of eyes stared at her, and the camp turned silent. Ani felt like she wanted to sink into the ground, and never ever come out, as Thorin walked up to her.  
"Is it taken care of?" He asked Bilbo, who nodded in silence, before looking at Ani, softly squeezing her hand. "Don't expect special treatment," he spoke as Thorin looked up at her from the corner of his eyes. Ani quickly ran to her sleeping bag and hid underneath the covers, hearing the dwarves whisper.

"Go to sleep." Thorin's voice boomed over, silencing the whispers. Ani quickly fell asleep after that.

.

"So, it's not a baby?" She heard Kili's voice near her head, as the morning had come soon enough. She recognized Bilbo's sigh. "No, Kili, for the tenth time. When a woman is pregnant she does not get her period." Ani softly cursed to herself, knowing she had to get out. She moved quickly, without looking at anyone, changing her bandages, cleaning the old ones. Rolling them as Bilbo had told her to dry them. As she came back the camp was already broken up mostly, and they were almost getting ready to move on.

As they got back on the road, Kili came riding next to her, a curious look on his face. "So this period.." He blurted out. "Bilbo tried to explain to me... but It's confusing."

Ani stared at Kili. "Didn't anyone told you about the birds and bees?" She asked, blushing. Kili looked even more confused. "What do they have to do with it?"

"Do you know where babies come from?" Ani asked patiently. Kili nodded. "From a woman," he stated, looking rather proud.  
"And how does the woman get it?" Ani asked, feeling a smile creep up, as she saw other dwarves listening in.

"She eats it." Bombur spoke laughing out loud. Kili looked at the large dwarf before he looked back at the woman.

"She eats it?" He asked, making Bombur laugh even louder, earning a slap from Bofur. "Don't fill the boys head with nonsense." He said, grinning widely. "Please continue Ani."

Ani gave Kili a kind smile, who looked truly blank on the subject. "When a man and a woman love each other."

"Or a Dwarf lad and lass." Bofur added.

Ani nodded. "They may decide they want a baby. To make a baby, they make love, or have sex as it is called sometimes too." Kili started to blush but nodded.  
"When they make love, the man puts his penis into the vagina of the woman." A strange giggle came from Ori, making Ani turn to him, seeing he too had started to blush. "When you make love, you can come sometimes, It is a lovely feeling and when a man comes, sperm comes out of his penis and into the vagina of the woman."

Kili nodded. "I know about that." He blurted, before turning a deeper color red, when he noticed what he just said, earning a laugh from the other dwarves around them.

"That sperm are millions of tiny tiny seeds, and they are going into the woman's uterus. Sometimes one of those Million sperm seeds reaches the woman's eggs. They too are very very tiny and you can not see them with our eye. And when a sperm cell mixes with an egg, a baby starts to form in the woman's uterus. Where it grows and gets nurtured by the woman, until it is ready to be born."

Kili nodded slowly, taking all the information in. "So.," Ori asked, blushing deeply. "What is a period?"

Ani smiled. "You remember those eggs I told you about?" Ori nodded. "Well, only a ripe egg can mix with a sperm cell. About once a month, there are one or two eggs that ripe and make their way to the uterus, ready to be fertilized. The female body has made a soft cushion on its walls so the fertilized egg will stick there. When that doesn't happen, the wall of the uterus is cleaned by the body. It takes a couple of days, and that is called a period."

"What does it look like?" Kili asked. Ani stared at him, not knowing what he was asking. "The cushion that comes out."

Ani laughed. "Bloody and sticky. That is why I needed a bandage." Kili stared at her in amazement. "So you are bleeding?" Ani smiled kindly. "Yes, I am, but not that much, and it will be over in a few days. Do you have any more questions?" Ori shook his head, his cheeks a bright red. Kili looked a bit insecure.

"You can ask anything," Ani said with a smile, feeling like she was doing a good job. She felt no shame or embarrassment when she gave sexual education. When she volunteered at a kindergarten, she had many children asking questions when their mom's got pregnant, and many parents had asked her what to say, or if she could explain it. Her view on the matter was always to answer in clear word, explaining the actual physical things that happened.

"What does it feel like to make love?" He asked quickly, and softly.

"That depends. With who you are making love with, and what you like. But if it is with the right person and you tell the other what you like and don't like, making love is a very nice thing to do."

"I was told it hurts with girls." Fili now spoke softly, earning a look from his brother.

"Sometimes. Especially when it is their first time. The uterus is closed by a thin membrane. When that breaks, it can hurt."

"Did it hurt you?" Kili asked, earning a few glances from the older dwarves. Bofur looked curious over his shoulder, a soft blush on his sunkissed cheeks.

"No." Ani smiled as she thought about her first time with Zane. "But I used tampons, so my membrane was already broken."

"Tampons?" Ori asked. "A rolled up bandage a woman can put inside her to catch the blood."

"Can you make love when a woman has her period?" Ori asked now, earning a laugh from Ani. "Of course, but I don't know many guys who want to. It is kind of messy."

Bofur held his pony back, so he came riding closer to her, making Fili fall back a bit more. "Have you been with many men?" He asked, a strange dark look in his eyes. Ani was a bit surprised by this question as s blush started to creep up her face. He did not even want to tell her the names of his parents, yet he asked her about her sexpartners.

"Why do you ask?" She answered, not wanting to satisfy the dwarf with a straight answer.

"Well since you know so much about it, you must have been with many men. Do you have any children?" It came out judging, and Ani felt a bit overwhelmed by the dwarfs statements. "It is something we learn when we grow up. To protect us from making stupid mistakes and ending up with baby's we can not support. It is common knowledge where I come from. But to answer your questions, no I have not been with many men, and I do not have any children. How about you?"

The eyes of the young dwarves now turned to Bofur, "I.. don have children." He spoke a hint of sadness in his eyes. "But I have been with women." "Dwarf, human or elf?" Ani asked, as she never wanted to hurt Bofur, and wished for him to smile again. He looked surprised before he started to laugh again.

"Oh lass, a dwarf can't have an elf woman. She will break." Ani laughed as well, earning a curious glance from the younger dwarves.

"Ani, can you show us how to make love?" Kili asked now, sending a blush over Ani's face. "No Kili. Making love is something you do in private. You will just have to find out with the one your with at that time." "We are stopping here," Thorin stated from the front of the group. As they arrived by a small broken down cottage. Gandalf got off his horse and walked around. "A farmer used to live here. With his family. I don't think it is wise to stay here. We are close to the valley." Thorin shook his head. "I am not going to the elves."

"You should, even if it is only to drop off Ani."

She was helping again with the cooking, chopping this time, as she was feeling a bit happy and another song came rolling from her lips. This was one of the radio, not one of the chaste ones Disney made.  
Earning a strange look from not only from Bofur. "Perhaps you shouldn't sing That song lass." The cook told her, a light blush on his cheeks.

His eyes had softened, and he had stopped stirring, as his head rested in his hand. "You will burn the stew," Ani said softly, as she smiled, feeling her cheeks starting to burn.

"You have a lovely singing voice." He said softly, as he started to stir again. "Thank you." She looked at him from underneath her eyelashes. She loved their cooking time together. "I happen to end up singing sad songs." She smiled a bit. "Want to hear a happy song?"

"If you feel like one." Ani took a deep breath, as she thought about a song she could sing.

"Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens.

brown paper packages tied up with strings,

these are a few of my favorite things."

Bofur started to smile, looking at her with a strange look on his face. "You are truly a marvel with songs. Got another one?" He asked as she finished with a smile. Ani sighed, feeling a familiar feeling deep inside her that happened every time he smiled at her.

 _"I like your messy hair,_

 _I like the clothes you wear_

 _I like the way you sing_

 _and when you dance with me._

 _I don't know why I ..."_

She swallowed the last two words, looking the other way.

"I can't remember the rest." She stated as her cheeks had turned into a traffic light.

Bofur had started to laugh. She could not help but laugh as well. "Yeah.. that is a strange song." She blushed "Did you made it up?" "No." "It sounds like a fun song." He looked at her, his eyes locked on hers. "Let me know when you remember it again."

Ani felt her face burning cursing herself for doing it again. The song from Hercules came to mind, but she decided against singing it. She already made a fool out of herself.

To her surprise, Bofur started to sing. It was a song about a lass and her bear, loving each other forever.

As the night was falling, suddenly Kili ran into the camp. "The trolls got Bilbo!" He said, out of breath. Thorin got to his feet. "To arms!"

The camp was in an uproar, and all Ani could do was look around. "Stay here lass." Bofur spoke to her as he was going with the group. "But!" "Stay here!"  
And with that the camp was empty, leaving Ani alone for the first time since she arrived. "Shit."


	4. Chapter 4

It was slowly getting darker, and Ani did not want to admit it. But she was scared.

Scared about what was out there, scared that they had not come back.

She was tired, but the noises coming from the forest had kept her awake. Should she go and see what was going on? Kili spoke of trolls. She guessed it wasn't the cute trolls with their colorful hair standing up. No these would probably be trolls from Sweden and Norway.

Ani swallowed. Right.. what did she know of trolls…

They can have multiple heads. she thought. And cannot walk in the sun. And most of the time they live under bridges.

She looked up at the sky again. There was no way to tell the time, but the moon was way up in the air, and it had just shown its face when they had left her behind. She needed to do something, this was driving her nuts.

She looked at the packs to find a weapon. Dwalin had left an ax. Ani walked to it, but as she tried to lift it, she found out it was impossible to pick up. She sighed again. She grabbed a thick piece of firewood and wooshed it around. That was much better. She straightened her back and was about to walk into the forest.

"And where do you think you are going?"

Ani turned around seeing Gandalf standing near the fire. 'Gandalf! Thank God. They left fighting trolls a few hours ago,"

"They did not return?"

Ani shook her head. "Come, stay close, try to be as quiet as you can."

Ani followed the wizard into the forest. Trying to go as quiet as humanly possible walking in an unkempt forest in the darkness of night. "Hush, we are getting closer," Gandalf whispered. He pointed at the light they could see in the distance.  
"Trolls can't see very well, and they are quite stupid. But they are very strong and cruel, so stay close."  
Ani nodded. She followed closely starting to smell a horrible smell.

They arrived and looked at the sight. Ani gasped as she saw the dwarves roasting above a fire. "Oh darn it," Gandalf whispered. "Stay here, don't let them see you." She nodded. She counted her friends to see if they were all there. They all looked alive enough. She suddenly let out a tiny scream as she saw Bofur was one of them being roasted.

The trolls were arguing about something. She could not hear them very well but she could smell them. It was truly horrid. The clothes they wore were torn and immensely dirty. She looked at the dwarves again. Where was Gandalf?

Suddenly she felt she was grabbed and lifted high into the sky. " Well well, a stray."

The filthy smell made her gag and the huge hand was holding tight enough for it to hurt. The troll walked into the camp. "Look at this Bill. I found another one." He shook her violently, making Ani's head hurt. "Ani! If you lay a hand on her I'll!" Bofur started to wiggle and yell, as long as some of the other dwarves. "Oh, I already did." The troll laughed and did the most disgusting thing ever. His giant tung hung out of his mouth and licked Ani. The smell coming from it made her throw up. "Ah, yuck!" The troll dropped her to the ground.

Right at that moment, Gandalf jumped out of the forest on a stone. "May the dawn take you!"

"Ah, bugger." One of the trolls spoke before they all turned to stone.

Ani kept on gagging. The smell and feel of the troll were still all over her. Bilbo was with her, as well as Gandalf. "Are you alright?" Bilbo asked. "I got licked by a troll!" She yelled. "Do I look alright." He handed her a handkerchief, and she wiped her face with it. Then she threw up again.

"Come, you need a wash." Bofur pulled her to her feet.

"We will go and find their cave, they must have had a place to hide during the day," Thorin spoke. Bofur nodded.

There was a river close by and when Ani saw it she took off her shoes and walked into it, clothes and all. She washed and scrubbed her face. "Lass, I understand you are grossed out but have you got a set of clean clothes?" Ani froze and looked at the dwarf. "Ahw crap." She cursed and hit the water. She ducks under water and rinsed her hair. "Come out, I got some in my pack."

He handed her a towel and together they walked into the camp. She started to shiver in her wet clothes. Bofur ducked into his pack, and that of his brother and pulled out a long brown shirt and a strange looking pants. "Here, I think this will fit you." Ani looked around to get changed, but the camp was being packed up as she looked around. "Come on lass, no need to be shy." She turned around before Bilbo came to her aid.

"Bofur! Perhaps she wants some privacy."

"What? We are private." He spoke confusedly. Bilbo sighed and grabbed his blanket.

"Perhaps she wants some privacy from you!" He gave Bofur one side and held up the other one. "No peeking!" He spoke strictly. A bit more covered Ani quickly undressed, before putting on the shirt. It reached her hips and the pants were long enough to make it into her boots. At least she was covered.

"Thank you." She started to feel warm again. She had put her own clothes in the pot they used for washing, and put on her boots. She smiled as Bifur put a fur on her arms muttering something in dwarvish. She turned around in front of Bilbo and Bofur. "How do I look?" Bofur was smiling like an idiot and put up his thumb. Bilbo sight. " You look like a tall dwarf. Come we are about to leave."

They were about to go on their way when Kili suddenly appeared. "The ponies have bolted." A wolf howl filled the air. "That is no wolf," Thorin spoke before another horrible creature jumped out of the bushes. Ani screamed.

The next moment happened so fast. Some weirdo with huge rabbits told them they were being hunted and before she knew it Ani was running, running for her life, as the others around her ran and fought off the wargs and Orks. Bofur had grabbed her hand and pulled her along with them. She was scared, even more, scared then with the trolls. These orks were trying to kill them, everything about them screamed at her it was wrong. And then Gandalf was gone.

"He abandoned us!" Dwalin yelled angrily. They started to form a circle around her. Ani never felt more scared and more helpless in her whole life. Tears were flowing down her face. She was going to die. They were all going to die.

Bofur looked over his shoulder and saw her state, quickly he winked at her. "Be brave Ani."

He told her. She nodded, her hands finding a rock. She could throw one. She was about to throw one to one of the orks when Gandalf re-appeared. "This way!" he yelled, sending the dwarves into action. Soon they entered some kind of tunnel as a horn was sounded on the fields they just came from.

Ani was sitting down trying to catch her breath. "Hey, lass. Come on, you are alright. Breath calmly." Two hands grabbed her own, she looked up in the two most brilliant green eyes she ever saw. "Come on, breath in… and out. slowly now." Bofur pinched her hands when she tried. Slowly she was calming down. When her breathing was almost back to normal, Thorin tapped Bofur on his shoulder. "Come, we move."

"What horrible place are we going this time?" Bilbo huffed, crossing his arms as he walked in front of Ani.

"To Rivendell."

* * *

Rivendell was beautiful. It was more than beautiful it was magnificent. Every corner and every view was perfect. Ani was finally calming down again. She had a talk with Gandalf and Lord Elrond to see how they could get her home again.

The last couple of days she had noticed she was leaning heavily on the calm and joyous Bofur, feeling less scared and alone when she was around him. Bilbo and Gandalf had been kind to her, but it was the dwarf that could make her smile.

He was roasting a sausage now, as Ani pretended to be busy with re-lacing her boots. She saw his eyes flash to her again, and she tried to capture his gaze. He gave her a smile, as his tanned cheeks grew a bit darker. "Ey, Bombur." He said, throwing his brother a sausage, sending him down to table and all. Everyone laughed, as Bombur ate the sausage anyway.

"Alright lads, time to sleep," Balin spoke as he came back.

Bofur helped her up as they walked to her room. "Lass, I have a favor to ask you," he said softly as he stopped walking halfway down the hallway.  
"It is not I do not want you with us but…" He looked at his feet. His cheeks were turning a deep red.

Ani chuckled. "You want me to stay here." He looked up. "Yes, that ork attack will not be the last one, I saw how scared you were. I just.. we all just don't want to put you through that again." Ani smiled and lifted Bofurs face so she could look into his green eyes again.

"Darling, I agree. I am very scared. I know you all can face these things but for me... I freeze when I think about traveling past Goblins and Orks and to a dragon! I am not made for this stuff." she sighed. "I will miss you though." She whispered.

Now it was Bofur to lift her face. "We will see each other again love. You'll see."

"I hope you. I… I like you Bofur. A lot. I.."

Suddenly her lips were occupied as the dwarf in front her pressed his lips to hers. His mustache tickled her but his lips stayed close.  
Ani did not think but licked his lips for entry. One millisecond he pulled away, before he deepened the kiss, parting his lips to give her access to his mouth. Carefully they explored, as nothing in the world around them seemed to matter anymore. It was just them.

Ani's hands softly moved touching his shoulders and chest. She wanted him. She had wanted him for a long time. When her hands moved into his jacked Bofur broke the kiss, pulling away looking a bit shocked.

"What's wrong?" Ani asked a bit worried he stopped her. None of her boyfriends had stopped when she wanted to do with them what she wanted to do with him. Bofur blushed.

"I am sorry lass. As much as I would like to go down that road you want to go, I would like to look around and smell the roses if you know what I mean." It took a moment for her to realize what he meant.

Damn it… she moved too fast. She forgot about where she was. about the proper way to probably do a thing like this. Her mind was going into overdrive.  
"I am sorry Bofur." She looked away, a bit ashamed of herself.

"Oi, lass. Don't think I do not want to.. do that with you. I just.. I like you too Ani. A lot. And if we are going to do … that… then. Let's enjoy it, and take our time." She bit her lower lip. "But.. you are going away… to a giant fire-breathing dragon. How will I know I will ever see you again?"

Bofur laughed. "You, my dear, are from a different world. How do I know you are not going back there when you get the chance. Because believe me, if you got it, you have to take it."

Ani sighed. "What a mess we have gotten ourselves into." Bofur was quiet for a bit before he kissed her on her cheek. "But a very beautiful, and wonderful mess my bonnie lass." He kissed her lips again, opening them almost immediately for her. She got lost again before he broke it.  
Their foreheads met and he looked deep into her eyes. "I just want you to know... I think I l…"

"Bofur!" A hiss came from down the corridor. "Time to go." Thorin was looking at them, his pack already on his back.

"Goodbye lass." Bofur smiled at her. "I wish you luck Bofur, and be safe." Ani smiled as she pinched his hand. She looked into his green eyes, already missing him greatly. She felt a soft pull on her hand, pulling her down. "Bofur!" Thorin hissed. "Time to go." The hooded dwarf looked up at her, sadness in his eyes. "Until we meet again."

He turned, letting her go, as she looked as they snook out of the hallway.

Ani was in her turn going to find Lindir, to bug him with many many questions, may questions until the dwarves got far away. Besides, it would give her something else to do then cry.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the late update. I hate writing about Rivendell and I got stuck. According to the timeline, she is stuck there for over a year. And I want this to move on. I hope this works, it will get better again.**

 **Thanks for the reviews.**

 **Oh, and it is AU. You will see why.**

Ani was laying on her soft bed and sighed for the millionth time. She was bored. She was more than bored. She was extremely and utterly bored.

And sad.

She had been in Rivendell for three months, and at first, she had liked the quiet life of the elves, learning to adapt to this new world. She had read some of the books and was learning to speak Elvish, but that only took up two hours of her day, leaving the rest a big blank nothing to do. Instead, her hart ached, and she slowly was falling into depression.

She had offered to help in the household but was denied it as a guest of Lord Elrond. She had sewn a few dresses and a shirt, knitted another scarf, a red one this time, taken long walks. But the slow pace of life was starting to bug the hell out of her. The elves were so soft, caring and knowing that Ani wanted to scream at the top of her lungs and listen to deafening music. She wanted to scream at them to bring her back to the dwarves. But she knew they were too far away from her to ever catch up with her.

With a sigh she threw her legs out of the bed and put on the shirt she made with her jeans and tied her hair up, the brown curls framing her face. Her hair had grown, and if she was home she would get a haircut, but as was pushed in her face over and over again. She was not home. She was in a strange scary world and the only friends she had, had left her.

Ani walked over to the window, and looked outside for the first time that day. To her surprise, the perfect view on the perfect valley had changed. The dirt roads had turned to mud, the small ponds had overflown, and the rain was pouring down. It was a refreshing sight. Somehow it brought a smile to her face, as she grabbed her coat and scarf and made her way outside. As she saw the inhabitants of Rivendell hurry for cover, Ani kicked herself out of her gloomy state and jumped with two feet in a puddle.

The splashes of water scattered themselves around her shoes, and Ani could feel her socks getting wet, but she did not care.

For the first time in three months she found something imperfect, and it settled something inside her. Just knowing something as normal as the weather could send a ripple of disorder to a place like that gave her the peace that nothing was perfect and nothing had to be perfect. She jumped in another puddle and found she was laughing again. Something she had not done in a while. Almost sounding like a crazy person she ran through a particularly large puddle, laughing and screaming.

"Ani!" A familiar voice called out to her from beneath the balustrade. "Ani, are you alright? Come back inside." It was Lindir, who was pulling his cape over his perfect hair.

"No way, it's only a shower." She laughed. "You will get sick!" "You don't get sick from rain, you get sick from germs." She spoke as she jumped from one puddle to the next.

She started to hum,

doodidoodle _-i-doo_

 _I'm singing in the rain, just singin' in the rain_

 _What a glorious feeling, I'm happy again_

 _I'm laughing at clouds so dark up above_

 _The sun's in my heart and I'm ready for love_

 _Let the stormy clouds chase everyone from the place_

 _Come on with the rain, I've got a smile on my face_

 _I walk down the lane with a happy refrain_

 _Just singin', singin' in the rain_

She ran to Lindir and pulled him into the rain, but he hurried back into cover, she had gotten a few more elves who had come to see her. Even Lord Elrond had shown up, looking at her with a tiny knowing smile on his face.

 _Dancing in the rain, I'm happy again_

 _I'm singin' and dancing in the rain_

 _I'm dancing and singin' in the rain_

She kept dancing a bit and singing before the rain started to give her a shiver. She walked passed the elves laughing and made her way to her room to put on some dry clothes and get warm again.

* * *

It was getting late that evening, and Ani knew it was time to turn in for the night. But there was an impatience inside her. She wanted a night out, a night with her girlfriends. But instead it made her miss home, she kept going with the flow she had gotten up with. Because, why not?

She braided her hair, something she was getting quite good at, and put on a dress that made her feel proud. Her worn boots gave her stability, and after one look in her mirror, she walked out of her room.

It was calm in the hallways, being filled with the soft singing of the elves, she quickly moved to the fireroom, one of the rooms she knew you could get your hands on a beer.

There were a few elves sitting there, talking to each other or singing. A few eyes turned to her, as she sat down, very unlady like, next to a few elves that looked like they had seen battle or at least the world outside.

"Good evening my lady." One of them spoke, smiling. "To whom to we owe the pleasure?"

"I'm Ani. Are you having a pleasant evening." She started politely, not wanting to scare them away.  
Three pairs of eyes looked at her curious, taking her in, and wondering what she wanted. "It is a lot more pleasant now you are here." One of them smiled cheekily. "I am Elrohir, that is my brother Elladan and our friend Glorfindel." He pointed at the other dark-haired elf and the blond one.

"Can we be of assistance?" The blond one, Glorfindel asked. Ani nodded and put down a deck of cards she had made.

"I got a game to play, and I need some players."

Elrohir grabbed the cards and looked at them. "These are strange cards. What is this game called?"

"Poker, will you join me?"

The blond elf laughed. "Let's play."

Ani explained the basics of the game, wondering if they were offended by placing bets, but they got more excited as they played on.

About half way through the third round, Ani had won all of them, Elrohir had gotten up to get some drinks. "Can I get you some wine, my lady?"  
"A beer thanks." Ani had turned around on her chair and her skirt had ridden upwards, she had not felt more comfortable in a long time, laughing with the elves, being more relax.  
Her eyes turned to the door, unconsciously, hoping the dwarves would enter. The two elves spotted her looks and exchanged a look. "A beer it is!" He left, and came back with two for her.

As the alcohol started to flow more, Ani started to lose against the elves, not able to keep her poker face. She looked at the door for the millionth time, when Elladan spoke up. "Perhaps it is none of my business, but are you expecting someone?" She looked at the elf, shrugging her shoulders.

"Only my heart, for he is miles away from here." She snickered. "Gees I am even starting to sound like one of you guys."

"Please don't do that my lady. The way you talk is refreshing." Elrohir spoke as he lifted his beer. "As is your drinking. To Ani!" They all cheered and drank. "A toast for my new friends. And being normal." Ani spoke as she tried to get up, almost falling over. She was a bit more intoxicated then she had realized. Elrohir grabbed her by her hips to keep her up. "To being normal!" He shouted.

They toasted a few more times, before Ani got up. "It has been lovely, but… I think I need a breath of fresh air, and then get to my bed. If I can find it." She stumbled, but she was steadied again by two strong hands.  
"I will walk with you, I know the way quite well in these halls." He spoke laughing.

"Brother?" Elladan looked a bit worried, but they exchanged a look Ani missed, trying to keep standing. She turned, leaning in to the tall elf. "Fine, but no funny business." She poked his shoulder, making him laugh. "Very well. Come, hold on to me, I don't know if I can keep standing up." He said laughing, as she put her arm around his shoulder. "Let's go."

Ani was stumbling on her own feet a few times, but the fresh air did clear her mind a bit from the alcohol that formed a cloud in her mind. There was no one in the gardens, and the two of them sat down on a bridge, looking out on a little pond. The moon was at their back, lighting up their faces in the moonlight. Elrohir seemed to glow in the light, making Ani seem dark.

"That was fun," Ani spoke with a contented smile.  
"It was," Elrohir spoke, looking at her. "I am glad you are smiling again, father said you seemed unhappy."  
"Your father?" Ani looked a bit confused.  
"Lord Elrond. If you had not come to us tonight, I would have asked if you wanted to go for a ride in a couple of days. After we were properly introduced."

Ani stared at him, starting to feel a bit angry. "Excuse me?" Elrohir laughed again. "I think your idea was a lot better. I enjoyed tonight."

Ani nodded. "So did I.. I just… Miss him." Elrohir kept quiet for a while. "Someone from your home?" He asked a bit curious, after some time.  
"No, someone from this one. I…" She swung her feet. "They will make it. And we will see each other again." She spoke confident. Elrohir placed his hand on her knee. "I am positive about that."

From that moment on, things changed for Ani. She found a new friend in Elrohir, who made the winter more enjoyable, and the plan for going to Erebor more realistic then it had before. He started to teach her some skills to survive in the wild, filling most of her days with training, laughing and singing. The winter was moving busyness of life indoors, as outside the snow would fall and the cold would bite at your cheeks. Ani missed her winter coat, even before winter even started to kick in. But the winter passed and slowly turned to spring. Besides having a friend, Ani felt down.

She missed her family, but there was someone else her mind kept drifting to. She caught herself looking out the window, imagining the smell of pipeweed, wood, and rock. She happened to let out one large sigh as someone sat beside her. "It is alright love, I'm here." A voice filled with joy made her head turn before she slapped the elf next to her on his arm. "Ah, that hurt!" Elrohir looked shocked by her action, but his eyes sparkled with mischief. "Suites you right," Ani spoke laughing. " Did you come to me with a reason, or did you just want to bug me." To her surprise, Elrohir took out a letter. "We got the word."

Ani froze. "Tell me, what happened to hem. I need to know!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6. I love this chapter. It is short but so sweet. I borrowed some lines from a knights tale. hehe**

 **Have fun, and thanks for the reviews**

Elrohir was starting to snicker as he pointed out the window. "Go ask them."

Ani ran. The flight of stairs moved underneath her, as her eyes searched for them. She spotted his hat as first.

Gandalf, and Bilbo were slowly getting off their pony being welcomed by Lord Elrond himself. She stopped at the end of the stairs, still having the wits of manners in her mind, as the hobbit spotted her. "ANI!" He yelled, running to her, embracing her in his short arms. "You look good." He stated as he looked at her. "So do you, my dear friend." She spoke smiling. It had been more than a year since she saw him, and she was very happy he was back safe and sound. "Ani." Gandalf spoke as he held out his arms for her, also getting a hug from the young woman. "I am glad to see you in good health."

Ani gave the two travelers time to settle in, as she paced nervously through Rivendell. But as the evening came, the three of them were found in the halls of fire. Elrohir not far away, reading a book. But Ani had only eyes and ears for Bilbo and Gandalf.

Bilbo was telling Ani about what had happened. Ani could only think about one thing. "How are the others?" She asked as Bilbo finished telling about how beautiful Erebor was. "Good, good. They are trying to find a place to settle down. Fili is a kind ruler, and with Dains help, he will soon be a great King."

"Not too much help I hope," Gandalf spoke with a smile. Ani waited for the hobbit to tell her more, as the face of one of the dwarves had hunted her in her dreams for over a year. But Bilbo kept him out of his stories, and fear was starting to grow in her heart. Maybe he got killed as well.

"H..how about Bofur." She asked softly, as Bilbo looked into the fire. She did not see a slow smile creep up Gandalf's face. "  
Bilbo shrugged his shoulders. "He looked a bit miserable when we left him. Losing that silly hat of his changed him a bit."  
Gandalf blew out a smoke ring that changed into a butterfly. "Along with his arm...It wasn't just the hat Bilbo. You know that."

Bilbo glared at the wizard. "I know, I know, but it is not my place to tell."

"Tell what?" Ani asked breathlessly. A silence grew.

"Did you know that Bard killed the dragon with a single arrow?" Bilbo spoke, changing the subject.

"Bilbo.. tell me." the hobbit looked a bit uncomfortable, getting up from his chair.  
He looked at the wizard in despair. "Please give it to her." He said, making the wizard look surprised.  
"Give what to her, I don't know what you are talking about." He puffed out another smoke ring.  
"Yes, you do Gandalf. Please, you see it as well as I do, she wants to know."

"I want to know what?" Ani asked, not following what the two were discussing, but knowing it had something to do with her.

"Fine fine, Bilbo, but you really need to learn not to meddle in other peoples affairs."

"I will learn when you will." He spoke. "Now give it to her." The little hobbit crossed his arms and glared at the man in grey.

"Fine." Gandalf moved his hand into his sleeve taking out a yellowish envelope with a red seal on it. "My dear." he smiled at her, a loving look in his eyes.

Ani stared at the envelope in her hands. Her name was written on it in a clear even handwriting. "Who is it from?" She asked, as she examined the envelope. But the wizard did not answer, he just smiled. The seal had a large pickaxe in it, and Ani's heart started to race. "If you need help reading it..." Bilbo started, But Ani looked up at Gandalf. "Who is this from?" Bilbo jumped, looking quite excited. "Bofur ofcourse."

"Bofur send me a letter? Why?" Gandalf was still smiling. "You read the letter. It is getting late, I believe me and Bilbo should go."  
Bilbo protested. "But Gandalf."  
"Come Bilbo, she can read it by herself." And with that the wizard and the hobbit left her room, leaving Ani behind with the letter in her hands. She softly touched the seal, feeling it underneath her fingers.

Bofur send her a letter.

Ani took a deep breath, as she looked at her name again. It was close to the letters the elves used, but a bit more.. square. She was glad he did not use runes, for she had to have someone to read the letter for her.

Her hands shook as she opened the letter, breaking the seal on the envelope.

The paper was soft, but sturdy, and the letter was made out of two papers, sewn together with a wide thread. Taking a deep breath Ani opened the letter.

 _My dearest Ani._

She swallowed, looking at the steady handwriting,

 _I hope this letter reaches you in good health and happy tidings._

Ani knitted her eyebrows together, this did not sound like Bofur at all.

 _Since the dragon has been slain, the twelve of us are doing well. As you might have heard, one of us has fallen in the battle with the orks and Goblins. It grieves me to tell you that Thorin Oakenshield is no longer with us. He was a good leader, who will be missed. Fili has some big shoes to fill, but with the help of his friends he is doing a good job so far._

Ani swallowed, wiping away a tear as she thought about the loss of Thorin. The words that were written down did not felt like they were Bofurs, but she was eager to keep on reading.

 _The road had been difficult and the peace treaties even harder, but slowly we are getting somewhere._

 _Yet I can not find happiness in the halls of my kin. Bombur has been asking questions, and I am pretty sure Bilbo knows. But I have not been happy ever since I left you behind with the elves._

Bofur rubbed his head, feeling the absence of his hat. "If that pointy eared lord let any harm come to you, I will cut off his elven hair." Ori looked up from the letter. "You can not write that Bofur." Bofur sighed. "You already changed enough of my words Ori. Write it down." Ori sighed, "Fine.. But when are you going to talk about how much you miss her." Bofur glared at the young scribe. "I am getting there silly oaf. Now write it down."

 _If that pointy eared lord let any harm come to you, I will cut off his elven hair._

Ani smiled, these were Bofurs words. A soft blush started to form on her cheeks as she kept on reading.

 _You have been hunting my mind ever since you smiled to me._ _The sun has been pale and the nights have been dark, ever since you left my side._

 _The others say my stories grow darker and more sad, but it is only because my heart misses you._

 _It misses you more then I ever missed my home._

 _I know I am just a silly old dwarf, and you have finer men and elves to pick from. But know that with me you will never have to be scared, or alone._

Ani wiped a tear from her cheek, missing him more then she had ever in the last year.

 _I ask of you, if you are willing and able, to come home to me._

 _To come home and be with me._

 _Perhaps even be mine._

 _With hope._

 _Your Bofur._

Ani read the letter many times, overwhelmed by the feelings she was feeling. Falling asleep with the letter in her hands.

* * *

The next morning Ani went to find Lord Elrond. Even before breakfast she found herself knocking on the door of his study.

"Enter." His kind voice spoke, and Ani carefully opened the door.

"Master Elrond?" She asked softly, seeing the elflord look up from his desk. "Ah Ani, my child. How are you fairing." He smiled as he put away the book he was reading.  
"A bit.. tired." She smiled softly. "I was wondering... do you sent birds with messages to each other here?"  
Lord Elrond nodded calmly. "We do, in fact, I have one here to sent to Fili, king under the mountain, to tell him I will be sending an ambassador to speak with him on our behalf."  
Ani's face lit up.  
"Why do you ask my child, do you wish to send a letter?"  
"I.." She started to blush. "I do my Lord, and perhaps I can be so bold for another request as well." She looked up, and lord Elrond raised his eyebrow.

"Let us deal with the first request first. Where would you like to send your letter?"

"The lonely mountain my Lord."

Lord Elrond looked into her eyes, staring her down, as a slow smile came across his lips. "To a certain dwarf perhaps?" Ani felt her cheeks explode in a hot mess, and she looked at her feet. "Bofur perhaps?" 

"How did you know?" She asked softly, as she could not stop smiling when she heard his name. "Your eyes and thoughts betray you, child. Of course, you can send a letter. I can guess your second request."  
Ani looked hopeful at the elvenlord.  
"If my son thinks you are ready, you can go with him, but if he says no, you have to wait for Mithrandir to go that way."  
Ani made a small bow. "Very well, thank you, my lord."  
"Oh and Ani?" He spoke as she was about to walk away. "Congratulations."  
Ani smiled. "Thank you, I will start writing the letter immediately." "Very well child, I will wait to send the bird."

Ani sat down with a quill, ink and a piece of paper.

 _My dearest Bofur._

She wrote, her writing more sloppy then at home for she was not truly used to use a quill for writing.

And underneath her name, she placed a kiss, wondering what it would be like to kiss the dwarf.

* * *

Ori was knocking fast on the wooden door in the large empty wall. It was Orla, Bomburs wife that opened the door. "hello Ori, what is the hurry?" She asked laughing. Ori whiped a piece of paper in front of her face. "She wrote back!" Orla face lit up as she jumped. "He is in the garden, come come."

Bofur was looking at the youngest of their family playing with a small wooden horse. His arm no longer in a bandage. Ori's eyes flashed to the place his left arm was supposed to be, but then looked back at the dwarf's face. Bofur smiled as he saw the younger dwarf, and slowly he got up off his feet.

"I got it." '

"Ya got what lad?" Ori waved the letter in front of him.

"She wrote back!"

Bofur lost his balance for a moment, falling back on the chair. "Do you want me to read it to you?"

"She wrote back?" Ori smiled at his friend. "Yes, she did. The letter came with Lord Elronds letter for Lord Fili."

"What did she write?" Bofur asked as he held out his hand, waiting for Ori to place the letter in it. The younger dwarf did and smiled.

"I don't know. It is addressed to you."

Bofur put the letter underneath his arm and carefully opened the letter with his other hand. The soft smell of soap and flowers hit his nose, making him smile. Rivendell was coming back to him together with that smell, as he remembered her face, and how she looked at him.

Ori sat down and Orla stood behind him, both looking very curious at him. He smiled, as he slowly unfolded the paper. The not perfect handwriting made him smile, as he could see her struggle as she wrote it. He wondered what she would write.

 _My dearest Bofur_.

"Come on, read it." Orla spoke softly. Encouraging her brother in law to read out loud as her curiosity filled her.

 _I can not believe it has been more than a year since I last saw you. I have seen the seasons change to winter, spring and summer again, but I have not seen your wonderful smile._

 _I have seen the sun and the faces of the moon, but I have not heard the sound of your voice for so long._

Bofurs heavy accented voice shook a moment, realizing how much he missed her.

 _The pieces of my broken heart are so small you can fit them through an eye of a needle. For I have not been with you for such a long time._

Ani smiled, borrowing words from a movie she once saw. And even though the words were not her own, they sure felt like it.

 _But your letter has sent me hope, and joy. For what I thought was just a silly dream, suddenly turns to be real._

 _My heart is making cartwheels when I read your words over and over again, making me warm again, melting the cold inside my heart._

 _The elves have been trying to find a way to have me return to my own world, for I tell them I wish to go home. But I asked them to stop, for I do not need magic to go home anymore. I need a horse._

Bofur's voice broke, as he realized what the words meant. She wanted to be with him. Leaving her own world behind, not even wanting to go back there. He tried to continue, but as he started for the third time, he handed it over to Orla.

 _Lord Elrond has been so kind to me, and is making arrangements for my travel. I shall be with you as soon as I am able to go to you._

 _So please, my dear dear Bofur._

Ani looked at his name she had written. Seeing his smile in her mind.

 _Let hope fill your heart as it has mine, and know, that we will see each other again soon._

 _For hope guides me. It gets me through the day and especially the night. The hope that after you left my sight it will not be the last time I look upon you._

With all the love that I possess...I remain yours...

 _Ani_

Orla was wiping away a tear, and Bofur had hid his face in his hands. "This woman has some way with words Bofur." She swallowed, as she returned the letter, seeing Bofurs eyes move to the bottom of the letter. "She never stopped loving you." Orla kissed Bofurs hair, and pulled him close. Making him look up at her. Even though his cheeks were wet, his eyes sparkled and he was smiling. "She is coming here." The youngest dwarf noticed his family in tears, and wobbled to his uncle. "Uncle auwie?" He asked pointing at his arm. "No lad, not this time." Bofur looked up at his sister-in-law "Not this time."

Ori quickly send word to Bombur and Bifur, who came home, wanting to read the letter as well.


	7. Chapter 7

**WARNING SEX SCENE!**

 **You can read to the line and then it is over when the line is there again.**

Elrohir held his horse in, signaling her to do the same. He smiled at her with a crooked smile. "You have been very patient my dear." He spoke as she rode to his side. "See here, the home of your loved one." Ani looked in the direction he pointed, seeing in the distance a mountain, surrounded by planes. Despair filled her for a moment. It looked so far away. They had been traveling for a month, and Ani was sure she would never be clean again. Of course, Elrohir had been cleaner then she was, but mud started to form a crest on his cape as well. "Only a week or two, if we do not run into trouble."

Ani smiled. "Like losing direction?" She asked snickering. Elrohir laughed. "Or getting into an argument with birds." They both laughed now, and Elrohir looked at her from the corner of his eye. "Are you sure you want to be with that dwarf?" "And who would you prefer to see me with. You?" She asked laughing, missing the look in his eyes. "For example." Ani blushed under his gaze. "Oh no Elrohir, I saw what you do with the woman that lost your fancy. Besides.. you are away most of the time. By the time you get back, I could be grey and old." Elrohir's face darkened. "You do know dwarves don't age as fast as humans." Ani swallowed, it had been a thing in her mind, sewing doubt in her mind. What if Bofur would leave her in a few years when she was old and wrinkly. Would she end up alone? "I have Elrohir, but that is something for me to talk about with him." She smiled. "What forest is that?" She asked as she pointed out the forest in the distance. "That is Mirkwood." "The forest with spiders?" She asked as a chill ran down her neck. "Yes, but don't worry, we are not dwarves Ani, the elves will give us a quick passage."

Ani felt nervous as they rode into Laketown. It had been restored in most places and looked very beautiful. Ani looked at the people around her in amazement, as they walked around the streets with such joy. Elrohir quickly got them two rooms, and after they had eaten, Ani was getting her things ready for the final part in the morning. She pulled the dress from her pack. The sturdy belt that she wore with it had been a gift from Lord Elrond. She touched the soft fabric. She had made it herself, along with something else she had kept a secret from even Elrohir. Thinking about it made her smile, and as she lay in her bed, she dreamed about them being back together again.

Ani felt her heart race in her chest, and she was afraid she was going to faint if she did not calm down. She was wearing her dress, and Elrohir had braided her hair so a thick braid turned around her head almost making it look like a crown. She suddenly felt insecure, wondering if Bofur would like her in a dress. As she slowly started to panic, Elrohir placed his hand softly on her arm.

"Will you please calm down.." He whispered. "He will think you look beautiful if you were wearing a sack." He smiled. "And if not, you can always go home with me."

Ani pulled a face at him, before she looked at the giant gates again, trying to calm down her breathing. They rode in, under the watchful eyes of the dwarven guards, already signaling they were on their way. Ani could feel her mouth started to turn dry, and sweat starting to form in her hands. She inhaled deeply as the shadow of the mountain fell over them. Letting the air pass through her open lips very slowly. Their horses were taken from them, and Elrohir offered her an arm, as he walked with her into the hallway. She was not prepared for what she saw.

Though it was dark, daylight seeped in through crystal veins, shining on the gold veins in the ceiling. A wide path was caved in stone, that lead to a large throne, within a wall above it shone the Arkenstone. There were many dwarves present, some in armor, as guards, others as spectators. They whispered things at each other Ani did not understand, and she felt fear strike her heart.

Elrohir looked at her worry on his face. "Just breath Ani." She did, and they walked on towards the throne, where Fili was seated, dressed in the finest clothes, Kili by his side. As they reached the throne, Elrohir bowed deep for the dwarven king, and Ani curtsied, as her eyes searched for him. "From Lord Elrond and Rivendell, I, Elrohir, son of Elrond, Greet you Oh King under the mountain."

"Elrohir, son of Elrond, You are welcome here," Fili spoke formally. Ani stared at Fili and forgot what she was supposed to say, as her throat clogged up. Fili gave her a smile.

"It has been quite some time Ani. May I welcome you to my home, Erebor." A whisper started to form as the king spoke her name.

"I greet you, King Fili. It is an honor to be here." She spoke softly, but loud enough for the others to hear. Fili smiled at her before he looked at his brother.

"Kili, will you take the lady, I am sure she has better thing to do than listen to politics." Kili bowed for her. "My lady, will you follow me."

Ani curtsied and followed the young dwarf, as Fili left with Elrohir on the other side. When they left the throne room, Kili turned to her, embracing her softly. "That went rather well." He spoke with a smile. "You look good Ani."

Ani gave a weak smile, her nerves still raging in her body. "So do you Kili, your beard has grown." Kili laughed before he started walking again. Ani swallowed as she followed him again. "Kili,..." The young dwarf looked at her over his shoulder. "Where is he?" She could not hide the vibration in her voice. Kili smiled as they turned a corner. He stopped and pointed at a lonely dwarf standing there. "Over there." He was getting up, looking at her.

"Oh dear." She whispered as she felt her legs were leaving her. She placed her hand against the wall, to keep standing up. Her breath sticking in her throat.

He had not changed a bit. She felt her heart start racing as he came closer. "Ani..." He spoke softly, as he smiled at her. His hair was braided in three braids, and two of them curled upwards in the end. It was strange to see him without his hat.

"Where is your hat?" She asked as he was standing only two steps away. He started to smile. "Oh come here, lass." He spoke as he opened his arms. She hardly noticed the bottom half of his arm was missing. She was unable to stop herself and quickly made it into his arms, pressing herself against him. He smelled of rock and dirt, just like she remembered. As he let her go, he moved his hand up to her face, pulling her in for a kiss.

It was a chaste kiss and his beard tickled her face. But Ani felt overwhelmed with feelings of love for the man in front of her, that she softly licked his lips, asking for entrance. He gladly gave it to her, as their kiss intensified.

"Ehm. Bofur, Ani.." Kili spoke, looking a bit nervous. Bofur softly broke the kiss, looking deep into her eyes. "Hello, lass." He spoke softly. "Hello, Bofur.." She answered as tears were welling up in her eyes. "What's that?" He asked caring as he wiped a tear from her cheek. Ani swallowed, trying to stop the tears. "Happy..." She whispered, not trusting her voice at all. He smiled, pulling her in for another hug. Bofur now turned to Kili, as he kept holding on to Ani. "How about we go to see the others." But Bofur shook his head, before looking at Ani again. "I know something much, much better to do Kili. Can you sent dinner up to my room?"

Kili blinked. "Ehm.. sure." "Let them put it on the table and leave." He spoke as he kissed Ani again. "Ehm... what are you going to do then?" Ani softly strokes Bofur over his cheek, kissing his cheekbone softly. "Use your imagination Kili." And with that Bofur grabbed a hold of Ani and pulled her away in the direction he came from, leaving a shocked Kili behind.

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* * *

. **Don't read if you don't want to**

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He pushed her against the wall as he led her into another room, kissing her face and neck with a heated passion. Ani was moaning softly, enjoying every minute of it. He turned her around, quickly untieing the ribbons on her back. He pushed himself against her, his hot breath in her neck. "By Aule how I have missed you." He earned a glare from Ani, as he took off her dress. "Who is Aule?" Only making him laugh. "You silly woman." He spoke as he looked at her now almost naked body. Ani tried to help him with his clothes, but dwarven clothing was strange to her, and he had to help her as they moved to the next room. A fire was burning and a large bed was neatly made. Ani pulled the blankets open and pulled the dwarf on top of her. He started to kiss her as they moved to a better position. His hand traveled down into her underwear and softly felt the hair between her legs. A low rawr came out of his mouth, before he kissed her, pushing his finger inside her. "You are so wet." He spoke, as he pressed his lips to hers. Ani was no stranger in making love, and her hands soon traveled into his pants, finding what she was looking for. As she grabbed hold of it she gasped. "It's so big." She stated in surprise, earning a laugh from the dwarf she loved. "Well, of course, it is love." He spoke as he kissed her neck. "Don't worry, we will take it slow." Ani bit her lower lip and smiled. "Please don't" She whispered husky in his ear, as she started to slowly move her hand up and down, earning a moan from the dwarf. She threw him on his back, slowly mounting him, as they kept kissing.

She moved over him, slowly letting herself adjust to him. She smiled as she saw him look at her in amazement. "I want you so bad." She whispered, slowly starting to move her hips as she could feel him rise up to meet her. The moans he was making, were joined by her own, as they moved together in a rhythm. After a while Bofur grabbed her, pulling her down on the bed as he pushed himself inside her. Hitting her inside in all the right places. As they moved faster their rhythm was getting erratic, and it did not take long before Ani came in an uncontrolled moan as her body shocked against him. Bofur smiled down at her, making her shake again as he pulled out.

Ani moved closer against his wide chest, sighing content. "I love you." She whispered. Earning a kiss from the dwarf on her ear. She looked down and saw he still held on, and she smiled. Softly she started to kiss his stomach, trailing down towards the object of her desire. As she gave it a soft kiss, earning a soft moan from her lover. Taking him in her mouth she heard him gasp, and she worked on him, It did not take long before she was getting him near the edge. "Please." He whispered. "let me come inside you." Ani moved, mounting her lover again, slowly feeling him fill her up. With a couple of moves, she felt him shake underneath her, a hotness exploding inside her. As his loud moan filled her ears. She crashed down on top of him, slowly taking him out of her. They sighed both, laughing a bit as they looked at each other. Bofur stroke a piece of her hair out of her face. "Mine." He whispered as he placed a kiss on her forehead. She moved closer to him, laying on his chest. His warm arm around her.

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* * *

 **It is safe again to read.**

Ani felt completely content as she woke up, warm and comfortable, as she could hear his breath slowly. She looked at him, softly stroking his beard. His eyes opened, as he pulled her closer. "Bofur.," Ani spoke softly. "What happened to your arm?" Bofur shifted. "Got cut off by the same ork that killed Thorin." He looked away, not sure how she would react. "Does it hurt?" Bofur shook his head. "Most of the time it doesn't" Ani softly rubbed it, with her hand, before she kissed him.

"Mister Bofur, I got you a gift." He smiled at her, looking a bit curious. Dwarves loved gifts. "Just wait here." She spoke, as she moved away from there. "I ain't going anywhere, lass." He said smiling, as he stretched out. Ani walked over to her bag, that had arrived even before she was even there. She dug it out and walked over to the bed again. It was wrapped in brown paper, and string and Ani started to smile thinking about how he would react. She started to blush as she felt his eyes on her naked body. His eyes sparkled with joy and mischief.

She handed it over to him as she sat down next to him, covering herself with the blanket. He started to unwrap it, his eyes growing larger as he noticed what it was. "I heard you lost your old one," Ani whispered as he took out the new hat, staring at it in amazement. "Oh, lass." He spoke softly, as tears welled up in his eyes. He put it on, finally looking like the dwarf she fell in love with so long ago. "How did you get it?" Ani smiled. "I made it myself." She spoke, as she touched the soft fabric, giving him a smile. "I was afraid it was too small."

Bofur suddenly grabbed her and pushed her down on the pillow, making her giggle. "How did I came so lucky that you would fall in love with me?" He whispered as he looked at her, making her blush. "At first, the sparkle in your eyes." She spoke softly, as her blush deepened. "And then the way you helped me and guided me. You were so kind, that you could make my cheeks burn. And then the way you looked at me when you thought I wasn't looking, made my heart race. The kindness you give to others, expecting nothing in return." She smiled lovingly upon him. "And when you left, you broke my heart." She spoke softly now, as she thought about the time without him. Bofur pulled her closer, "I ain't ever leaving ya again lass."

When they finally were able to stop kissing each other for more than 5 minutes, they slowly started to get dressed and Bofur braided her hair, much different then Elrohir had done. Even though he only had one hand, he managed to braid it without any problems. "Who did your hair?" Bofur asked curiously as he was almost done. "Elrohir did." She was tying her shoelaces. "Who is that?" There was a warning in his voice. "My mentor." Ani said, "You can meet him later, I arrived here with him."

"I did not know you needed a mentor." Ani laughed. "Do you know how boring Rivendell is? I had to learn something." "Wha did ya learn?" He asked as he patted her shoulder. Ani felt the braids with her hands, feeling three thick braids on her head, pinned against her head. She smiled at him. "Nothing much." She said as she was holding on to a small box, dangling it in front of his face. "What is this?" Bofur grabbed it from her, putting it back in his pocket. "ow did ya get that?" "Same way I got this." She showed him his whiting knife. Bofur glared. "So ya steel?" Ani laughed. "Of course not love." She placed a kiss on his lips as she gave back his knife. "It is just a bit of fun." He smiled. "Wha else did ya learn?" He asked as he put on his shoes. "shooting, elvish, sewing, playing the harp."

"Why did you learn elvish?" "So I could talk to them," Ani said smiling. "Can you lean me Khudzul?" Bofur smiled. "Sure." He got up, "Ready?" She nodded, sliding her hand in his.

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Elrohir was looking very dark at them as Ani and Bofur walked into the dining area, seeing a lot of familiar dwarves sitting around it. "Where have you been?" He asked glaring at Bofur from the corner of his eye. Ani smiled at her friend, as she patted his hand. "Don't ask questions you don't want to learn the answer too." Elrohir pulled her a bit closer, as he glared at Bofur. "This is not propper." He whispered in elvish. Ani started to laugh. "A when have I been propper Elrohir? Please, you knew this was going to happen, so don't look so surprised. How did the meeting with King Fili go?" Elrohir sighed. "Fine. These fine dwarves have been keeping me company while I was waiting for you." Ani looked around the table at the faces of the traveling companions she had when she first arrived. She greeted them all and as she finally sat down, she looked around the table. "What no drinks?" She asked. "Oh no, we did not want to insult the ambassador," Ori stated, blinking carefully. Ani laughed. "Better take out the drinks then."

Ani was getting quite drunk as she tried to keep up with the dwarves and elves. Fili and Kili had joined them and all were celebrating, and Ani felt the world was starting to spin. As she softly placed her head on the table, she could fall asleep right there. "Ey lass." She felt a hand poke her as she looked up at a smiling face. The world was spinning, making her laugh. "Ey boyo." She replied with a double tong. "Alright, time for ya to go to bed." He said as he put his arms around her. "She will sleep in the guest quarters." Someone spoke, Ani did not know who. The dwarf that was holding on to her, pulled her a bit closer. She leaned in on him, almost falling over. "Alright lass." Bofur spoke, picking her up, "no more wine for ya." He carried her as Ani nestled herself against his shoulder. "You smell nice." He gave her a kiss on her forehead. "So do you love." She was placed in a soft bed, and she wanted to pull the dwarf in with her. "Stay." She whispered, already falling asleep. "Sure lass." He kissed her forehead and walked to the chair next to the fire.

In the following days, they spend a lot of time together to get used to each other again. It had been almost two years since they had seen each other, and before that a small month, but they quickly sat into their old pattern, telling each other story's. Mostly about what happened, but also a few stories Ani had remembered when she was with the elves.

They sang songs together, and Ani listened in amazement to Bofurs voice. He had not been singing so much, on their journey,

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It was soon getting colder as snow started to fall on the mountain, Ani tried desperately to keep track of the date. December had started and Ani wanted to celebrate Christmas. A bit insecure about it she tried to ask Bofur about it. "Do dwarves have holidays?"

"Ay, we do, why are ya asking?" Bofur asked as he was cutting away on a piece of wood.

"Do you celebrate the solstice? You know, the return of the light into the world?"

"We do lass. We give each other presents, light a big fire and eat. Why?" Ani was surprised about how much alike they were. "I wonder if we were able to celebrate Christmas." Bofur smiled. "Of course... what is a Christmas?" Ani tried to explain, but only got more confused about it as she tried to get around the spiritual thing of it. Jesus and Christianity was something Bofur did not understand.

"So ya need a pine tree? And glass orbs and lights to decorate the tree?" She nodded. "But perhaps we could do it next year, then we have some time to get the decorations." But Bofur shook his head before he kissed her cheek. "let me take care of that lass. I want ya to feel at home here as I do."

It was Christmas morning, and Ani found herself alone in their bed, as she heard noises coming from the living room and tries to hush them. Curious about it, Ani got dressed in her beautiful new dress and walked out, her jaw dropped in surprise. In the living room was the most beautiful Christmas tree she ever saw. The silver and glass balls shined in the light of the real candles Bifur was carefully lighting them as Bofur held in his hand a bright star made out of gold and silver. Ani covered her mouth with her hand, and stared at it, as tears formed in her eyes. Bofur turned and smiled, before looking worried as he saw she was crying.

"Not right?" He asked as she sat down on their couch, wiping the tears from her cheek. He kneeled down in front of her. "What is wrong lass?" "It's beautiful," Ani spoke through her tears, managing to smile at the dwarf she loved. He smiled kindly, as he softly grabbed her hand. "Would you like to place the star in the top?" Ani moved slowly, careful not to touch a candle, and placed the star on top of the tree, making it shine and shimmer in the candlelight.

Suddenly Ani missed her family terribly, knowing she would never see them again. Bofur grabbed her hand again, softly placing her on their couch. Bifur had moved to the kitchen, as Bofur softly rubbed her arm. "I am sorry Bofur, you worked so hard, and I am here crying..." She tried to stop her tears, but it was impossible at this time. Bofur snickered. "It's alright lass. Ya miss ya family, I can understand that." He pulled her in, and Ani snuggled against his chest. "Thank you for the beautiful tree Bofur." "Merry Christmass lass."


	8. Chapter 8

Ani was laying next to her husband, as her eyes suddenly flew open. As fast as she could she threw the blankets away, running to the bucket in the corner of the room, emptying her stomach. After she hurled three times her stomach was empty, as she let herself drop to the ground, wiping the tears from her eyes. She took a moment to gather herself again before she got up. Grabbing the bucket and emptying it in the garbage hole. She cleaned it herself and walked back to the bed.

Bofur´s eyebrows were knit together as she walked back shivering. "Again?" He asked, his thick accent still making her heart race. Ani crawled back in the bed with him, pressing her back against his chest, as he wrapped his arms around her. "That is the fifth time this week, Ani." Ani his her head underneath the covers, she felt utterly miserable. "Maybe you should go and see a healer." "Maybe not." She snapped. Last time the healer almost broke her arm when he wanted to see how far it could bend.

"You can go to Ori." Ani snorted. "Ori knows even less than the healer. It will pas Bofur, now shut up and let me sleep." He did, but also got out of the bed, leaving Ani in a cold bed by herself. She sat up, feeling her head spin. "Where are you going?" "Work." He grumbled as he got dressed quickly. She heard the door slam, leaving their place empty and quiet. Ani suddenly felt very much alone and felt the tears running down her cheeks. Things had not been easy.

Ani had a hard time adjusting to the life within the mountain, and the lack of sunshine had made her grumpy and sad. The healers hadn't done anything to help her, and as the snow started to pile up outside, Ani was shut in. She covered her face and cried, slowly getting out of the bed and getting dressed. As every morning she made her way to the market to get food and stored it in their rooms. Then she went to wash her clothes and looked longing at the snow outside the large doors.

Ani had put on her thick coat and walked outside, sniffing up the fresh air. The sun shone on her face, making her smile. Seeing a familiar dwarf in the distance, she made a snowball, hiding behind a pillar. She threw it at him, laughing as he started to curse as she threw more snowballs. "OH, I will get ya, woman." He shouted, grabbing a hand filled with snow, throwing it in her face, pulling her down in the soft snow. His cold nose was on her cheeks as he started kissing her, making her laugh as his mustache tickled her. "How is your mood today my Lord?" She asked as he helped her up. "Better. And yours my lady?" Ani smiled at Bofur. "Better." She gave him a kiss. "What are you going to do the rest of the day?" He asked her with a smile.

"I am going to see Orla." Bofur stepped back, looking a bit surprised. Orla was Bombers wife. "Why?" "She said she had a nice pattern for a dress." Ani lied. As she got up out of bed this morning something had struck her and now she wanted someone more experienced to tell her what was going on. Bofur was oblivious at her lie and just happy she was joyous again. "You?" "I am going to Balin today. He had something to discuss with me." Ani kissed her husband deeply. "Why was that?" He asked smiling. "Because I love you." She smiled. "See you later lover." She softly pulled his beard, knowing he loved that. He looked up at her with dark wanting eyes. "Not too late I hope." Ani just laughed as she was walking away, looking over her shoulder.

.

Orla was braiding one of her children's hair when Ani came in. The twins were running around with their new toys as Ruma was reading in the corner of the room. "Hey, Auntie Ani." The twins said uni sonical as they passed her. "Hello, Rim and Ram." She smiled. "Hello, Orla." She kissed her sister-in-law on her bearded cheek. "Hello, Ani." She smiled as she tied the ribbon in Ravi's hair. "Go off and play." She said as she softly slapped the child on the but. "Come."

Ani and Orla sat at the kitchen table, as Orla put down two cups of tea. "So.. what did you want to talk about." Ani blushed softly. "I think. I might be pregnant." She whispered as Orla's eyes grew. "Why are you thinking that?" "I have been sick in the morning, and I have not had my bleeding in a very long time." Orla started to laugh. "Poor Bofur, he always thought you two would never have any children. "Don't get ahead of yourself Orla, I don't know for sure, nor do we know if it will work." Orla nodded. "You are right, better not tell him."

Dis looked up smiling as she opened her eyes again. "I believe you are right Ani." Dis was the queen mother and an excellent midwife. "I want you to come to me every week, so we can see what is going on. You might be finding some difficulty along the way since we dwarves carry much heavier then humans do. "Should I tell Bofur?" Dis smiled. "As soon as possible."

That evening Ani sat near the fire, looking very serious as Bofur came back from his talk with Balin.

She looked up from her knitting work as she was knitting a tiny hat, wondering if Bofur would notice. "Hello dear." He said, as his eyebrows knitted together. "What's wrong." He was with her quickly, worry all over his face. "Well, I have been with a healer." "What did he say?" "I can no longer ride a horse, nor lift heavy things and I have to drink this horrible horrible potion every day." Bofur swallowed and softly grabbed her hand"Did he say what was wrong with you?" Ani nodded. "I have a little dwarf growing inside me." Bofur stared at her, as a very big smile formed on his face. "your carrying?" He asked in amazement. Ani smiled as he pulled her on her feet, and dances with her around the room. "Bofur.." Ani stopped him and looked serious. "Don't get carried away, there is a reasonable chance I will not be able to carry it full term."

It was about three weeks later that Ani miscarried, grieving the two greatly. But Bofur quickly found something else for them to worry about as Fili got a son, but lost his wife in the progress. They were taking care of the little prince as often as they could, and it almost felt like it was theirs.


	9. Chapter 9

**Warning! Character death!**

As the years passed by, Ani was starting to grow older, as Bofur hardly changed,

She had been angry about it at first, but as old age comes with acceptance, they enjoyed their time together. As Bofur was in the hight of his life, Ani was slowly but surely slowing down. She could not keep up with the princeling anymore, and if was mostly Bofur taking care of the young dwarf, where Ani gave him advice and laughed with him.

Bofur woke up, softly turning towards the very old woman with tears in his eyes. She looked different, and her skin was cold. He softly placed a kiss on her brow. "Sleep well, lass." He spoke, as tears streamed down his cheeks. His large hand whipping a grey strand of hair out of her face. He looked at her for some time, before he got out of bed.

The funeral was small and only a few of their friends and family attended. She was buried outside the mountain, beneath one of the trees she had loved to sit under.

Bofur was not the same after she passed, and even though he was a dwarf in the prime of his life, he had begun to slow down. Smiles stayed away for longer, and Bombur and Bifur often found their brother and cousin quietly smoking his pipe, looking sad in the distance. A few years had passed, and life started to go on.

As they were working in their store, Bofur suddenly sat down, burying his face in his hands. Bombur was quickly next to him, looking at his brother turning very very pale. Without thinking he and his brother closed the shop and took Bofur to the infirmary. It scared Bombur how light his brother had become. The healers examined the dwarf as best as they could, before taking Bombur and Bifur away to talk to them. The look on Dis face was sad and her eyes filled with tears. "What is wrong with him Lady Dis?" Bombur asked, worry all over his face. "Nothing Bombur. Nothing I can heal." "So he will be alright?" Dis shook her head. "He is dying Bombur." She spoke as her voice broke.

"No.." the large dwarf whispered, as Bifur took his cousin in his arms, pulling him closer. After he calmed down a bit, Dis let them near their brother, who was laying comfortable in one of the beds. "Please brother." Bombur spoke softly, as he grabbed his brother's hand. "don't leave us." Bofur slowly opened his eyes, and his brother noticed the extreme sadness in his eyes. "You two have a good life, my brothers." He slowly turned to Bifur. "I mean it."

And with that Bofur closed his eyes. But as he just wanted to lay there a bright light was shone in his eyes. Could they not just let him die in peace? He opened his eyes, seeing a strange light coming from the door. A young woman in a green and red dress hung lazily in the doorpost. She smiled at him as he looked at her. "Look what I found." She spoke softly as she walked closer, pushing his old hat on his head. Bofur sat up, suddenly not feeling so tired anymore.

"Is it time?" He asked softly. The woman laughed. "Do you want to come or not?" She asked, holding out her hand. "It's snowing outside." A smile slowly crept up his lips, grabbing hold of her hand. "You look good lass." He said as he gave her a slap on her ass. Ani kissed him on his cheek. "The last one in is a rotten egg." She smiled before she ran out of the door. Bofur lingered near the door, looking back he could see his brothers looking so sad. Bifur softly stroke the hair of the Bofur that was still in the bed. "Go." He whispered in Khudzul, making Bifur smile. He turned and walked into the light.

Bombur and Bifur looked at their brother as a peace came to him, and a smile formed on his face, as he blew out his last breath. "Until we meet again in the halls of our father's brother." Bombur kissed his brother's brow. "Be happy with Ani." He whispered.

 **I hope you loved the story,**

 **I wish I could make it longer and go deeper into the story, but it has been sitting on the shelf for so long, I am afraid I am stuck.**

 **So here it is.**

 **Thank you for reading it and all the reviews!**


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